Last Updated on September 20, 2023 by

Are there any “Biggest Software Development Companies‘ ‘ and, if yes, what steps need to be taken to get to the ideal condition? The guidelines are very strict as well as various methods for software development best practices like scrum or extreme programming, however I’ve realized that it’s never possible or even wise to adhere to these methods in a strict manner.

This doesn’t mean that we do not strive to implement these techniques but we must be open. In addition to this flexibility we must be thinking about the general structures that ensure a successful project and how coherence and consistency will increase your chances of reaching what you consider to be the “ideal.” 

Since there’s no “playbook” on the components of a successful Software Development Project, we put together our most tested and tried-and-true methods to help the software projects we work on at Dialexa perform better.

The importance of using best practices

Implementing the best practices can allow you to make the most out of your development process, without reinventing the wheel. Your code should be easy to understand, easy to apply, and easy to use.

Every business must follow the most effective methods to make sure that time is spent efficiently as well as money. This is especially true for creating software products.

Code Simplicity

Strive To Keep Your Code Simple.

Code simplicities is an idea that was conceived by Max Kanat-Alexander who is a software developer at Google and also a Community Director and Release Manager of Bugzilla. Bugzilla project. 

The goal is to eliminate the complexity of software development. The movement for code simplicity is in line with other software concepts like DRY (Don’t repeat yourself) which is a concept that was introduced by the author of “The Pragmatic Programmer” and the agile development motto YAGNI (You Don’t Need It).

Testing

Continuously Test From End To End.

At first, I was skeptical regarding Test Driven Development (TDD) since it seemed to be too prescriptive. As time passed, I discovered that TDD can give you more confidence in the quality of your code. However the behavior Driven Development (BDD) allows you to gain knowledge of requirements and features directly from your customers and this alignment is translated in code more suited to what the user wants. Complete integration testing makes sure that the components are functioning as intended and improves the coverage of code.

Code Coherence

Keep It Consistent Across Your Team.

In the case of working in a group when working with a team, it’s essential to have an unifying style guideline in your codebase. If you’ve got a codebase that you can tell the person who wrote a certain file, there’s no consistency among authors. There are a variety of tools that can ensure consistency in style. Here are three we love:

  • The JSCS (Javascript Style Checker) is a JavaScript Linter that also comes with an excellent formatter.
  • ESLint can be a highly customizable linter that has gained quite a bit of acclaim in the world of community.
  • Editorconfig is a tool used to make it easier to maintain consistency among the different editors and IDE’s your developers work with.

Code Reviews

Don’t Be Shy, Allow Someone To Check Your Code!

Everyone makes mistakes. The ability to recognize your mistakes can be the initial step towards placing your faith in an audit of your code. A colleague reading your pull requests prior to merging is a great method to ensure the final code quality. Code reviews can help to reduce bugs in your product which is the main goal so let go of the concept of perfect. “The Code Review Mindset” is a fantastic piece on what is important to code reviews.

Estimation

Set Your Time And Budget 

When you’re managing the software project regardless of whether you are a member of a development team or as an independent contractor it is essential to set realistic expectations about your time demands and budgeting. It’s not just about writing code, it’s making the effort to write it properly and then revise it until it’s more effective.

If you’re rushed into completing tasks that are not completed, you’ll write less than perfect code. Time constraints that are unrealistic will not do anyone any favors and lead to the accumulation of the debt of technical developers.

Create agreements that will allow you to grow correctly. You and the client are more satisfied because of it.

Estimates Realistically

A realistic budget can keep any software program from being under excessive pressure. With agile approaches it allows the scope to expand more easily as the project grows; however, an estimate that’s off could cause issues in the quality, morale, and output. Estimation can be a bit difficult since it’s difficult to strike the right balance between being accurate and sandbagging with lots of uncertainties.

 It is safe to say that better estimation is a result of experience, and there are numerous tools that can help in the development of software project coding estimations. Here’s a great list to get started.

Conclusion

In real life what is known as the “ideal software development project” could never be realized! Each project is unique and has distinct features and flaws, joys, fears, sorrows and features, users, bugs codes, test cases, codebases and a myriad of other elements. Hope these ideas will help your projects become more consistent and cohesive. If you are unsure, discuss your expertise and encourage trust within the development group, remain positive and keep in mind that you’ll get it!

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